[Exclusive] Interview with Chris Miller of You Me at Six

You Me at Six is widely popular in the UK, the band will be releasing their fifth studio album titled “Night People” on January 2017. Their previous album released back in 2014’s “Cavalier Youth” peaked at number one in the UK. To find out more about the upcoming album, visit their official website here. You Me at Six debuted on to the music scene over a decade ago and still continues to wow the crowd with their sold-out tours. We got in touch with Chris Miller - guitarist of the English rock band for an interview. His passion from music grew from a young age by listening to music and from watching live bands. 

Q: What did you find to be most challenging thing when creating the upcoming album titled Night People?

A : It was the longest we’ve taken to create the album. There was a bit of pressure because it’s our fifth album. The previous album we did was number one in the UK. We've build our own studio at Dan’s home and now we’ve got like a "home base" where we write songs and play music really loud. For us, it was challenging, pressure wise. I think we're just relieved that by taking our time. That’s why the album took so long because we wanted to make sure the album is perfect. We wrote way more songs than ever before for a CD.

Q: Night People will be released early next year; would you say there is a theme to the album?

A : I don’t think there’s any obvious theme or concept to the album. We just really like the name and even if there wasn’t any massive theme behind it, we thought a lot of people who are interested in the band or buy the album would listen and come up with their own concept. We like the whole feel from the photos and logo we’re going for. 

Q: What can the public or fans expect from this album?

A : I think what we want the fans to take away from the album is to appreciate what we’re doing with our music. I guess that’s what every band wants from the fans, is to be receptive of what you put out.  We try to make it a rock and roll album and not to get too side-tracked with other genres. We want it to be more straight up and cohesive with the album and I think we’ve really done that. I would happily say it’s our best album to date. I would want the people to just enjoy it and come see us live. 

Q: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

A :  I love lots of blues, sort of like B.B. King and Eric Clapton. As I got older, I started gravitated towards Rage Against the Machine and Incubus. More recently, I’m really into John Mayer’s guitar playing. We all appreciate all sorts of music. As long as someone’s got a good song, I don’t care whether it’s rap, jazz, blues or pop. We all can appreciate a really good song.  

Q: Are there any plans currently to tour in Asia?

A : We would absolutely love to but we haven’t got any plans yet but we are always looking for  the opportunity to perform at places we’ve never been. We were lucky enough to play in different countries all over the world and for us, no place is impossible. If there’s people who want to hear us play, we’ll do anything we can to get there. 

Q: How do you find balance among your band-mates of not overpowering each other on stage?

A : It’s always been pretty simple because we get along as a band. We’re not like one of those bands in which no one knows each other before they started. For us, we’ve been best mates before the band even started. We don’t have much of a problem getting along. When you’re on tour with the same bunch of people, it’s very easy to get annoyed with one another but we have a policy of if anything that piss you off, just say it and then get it over with.

Q : How would you introduce You Me at Six to new listeners?

A : I would say we’re a high energy rock band and if you like watching live bands, or listening to music while driving, our music would pick you back up and get you going. 

Q: If the band could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?

A : This is me just speaking, I’m not sure about anyone else but I would love to work with someone from the rock world like Red Hot Chilli Peppers or Matt Bellamy from Muse, I think it would be really cool. Get that edge on our own music and see what they can do with us. 

Q: Night People will be the band's fifth album; how do you think the band's music style has changed since the first album?

A : I think for every single album, we sort of evolved as any band would. Naturally, we have not really tried to follow into any fads or fashion in music that have come and go in the last few years. Starting from our first album when we’re 16 and writing punk music, we definitely slowed down but the music still got energy. Over time, just like anyone, you’ll change and the way you write songs as well. For us, I think it’s been a natural progression and we’ve developed as a full-on rock band now and it’s all that I wanted to be so it’s great. 

Q: Lastly, the new year’s is approaching. What are your New Year's resolution for 2017?

A : New Year’s resolution? I haven’t got that far but quitting smoking comes up every single year. I think just staying positive and have a really good year touring with the band. Just do the best we can to play as many shows as possible. 

Our platform would like to thank Sony Music Malaysia for the interview opportunity.